


A Surprise Visit & Another Crisis

by ahsagitarius



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Swan Secret Santa 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 13:26:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13147656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahsagitarius/pseuds/ahsagitarius
Summary: They've made it back to Storybrooke from Neverland, but they're in for a surprise.My CSSS gift for @rebelcxptain.





	A Surprise Visit & Another Crisis

**Author's Note:**

> Season 3A Canon Divergence where they make it back to Storybrooke from Neverland, Pan is not in Henry's body, and they stop Pan's curse, so no Missing Year either.

They’ve just made it back on land, leaving the nightmare of Neverland behind. Immediately, they’re swept up in hugs and Emma can’t help but feel relieved to be back in Storybrooke with Henry safe by her side.

The group moves toward Granny’s to celebrate their return when she hears Henry ask, “What is that?” Looking toward what her son pointed to, she sees a swirling vortex that she recognizes to be a portal.

 _Really?_  They haven’t even been back five minutes and there’s already another crisis. Emma lets out an exasperated sigh and makes her way toward where she’d seen the portal open. She notices Hook step behind her and the treacherous voice that’s taken over more and more lately whispers that she knows he always has her back.

Ignoring the voice she continues forward; her parents, Hook, Henry, Regina, Gold, Neal, and Belle following.

As they get closer, she hears a panicked voice yell out “LIAM!” and quickens her pace. It sounds like whoever is in trouble needs help. They finally get to Main Street, where they saw the portal open, and find a man and woman lying on the ground, their heads turned away.

Emma rushes to help them up but before she can reach them, the woman lifts her head, and when she does, it makes Emma freeze in place. An identical pair of emerald eyes stare back at her and all Emma can see is her face.

Her face on the other woman.

_How is this possible?_

Suddenly, the man lets out a groan and sits up. Momentarily distracted she flicks her eyes over to him. Emma didn’t think she could be more shocked, but then she finds herself looking into Hook’s face.

Emma knows Hook is behind her, but she’s looking at him (or another version of him apparently) right in front of her. Turning back, sure enough, Hook is standing there, mouth hanging open and brows furrowed in confusion.

“What the hell?” is all Emma manages to say. She looks around to see confused looks on everyone’s faces as well.

At Emma’s exclamation, the Other Emma snaps her head toward her and mutters an “oh shit.”

The Other Hook lets out another groan and winces when he touches the gash at his temple. Emma sees the other version of herself gently move his hand away, and cup his cheek tenderly. “Here, let me heal it,” she says.

But Other Hook shakes his head, “You can heal me later, Swan. We have to go.”

“No, I’m going to heal it now,” Other Emma insists. “You’ll be no help with a bleeding wound.”

She hears Other Hook mutter,  _“bloody, stubborn woman,”_  but acquiesces to her request.

This Emma has magic. Just like her. She obviously knows how to use it. Unlike her.

The Other Hook gives the woman in front of him a loving smile, as they rise from the ground. “Thanks, love.”

“Killian, he has Liam,” Other Emma says with tears gathering in her eyes.

“We’re going to find him, Swan. I promise, we won’t let anything happen to him,” Other Killian tries to reassure her.

Emma can’t even think straight right now. All she sees in front of her is a version of herself and Hook, holding onto each other as if giving the other strength, and talking about some boy. She can’t wrap her mind around it all.  _You know exactly what this looks like,_  the pesky voice says to her.

“Find who?” Henry asks, looking at the newcomers in fascination. She can see the curious and excited glint he gets in his eyes every time something new is revealed about fairy tales and magic. She’d be proud he’s the first one brave enough to speak if she still wasn’t in a state of shock.

Other Emma and Other Hook seem to break out of their bubble and notice the whole group in front of them for the first time. When their eyes land on Henry, the look they give him can only be described as nostalgic.

“Henry,” Other Emma whispers in reverence. “You’re so young,” she lets out a quiet laugh.

Henry gives her a confused look, but she clears her throat before he can ask what she means. As she takes a deep breath, the Other Killian wraps his arm around her waist. And then she says the last thing Emma would have expected to hear.

“We need to find Liam,” she says. Then looking directly at her she continues, “our son.”

* * *

**_Future Emma POV_ **

She thinks she’s going to give her past self a heart attack by the expression on her face. And Killian’s past self doesn’t look any better. They haven’t even explained anything yet, and the two look like they’re about to pass out.

Killian tightens his hold around her waist and she draws strength from him. She remembers herself at this point of her life, how guarded and closed off she was. But right now she doesn’t have time to placate the past version of herself. They need to find Liam and get him away from Pan’s clutches. Her heart constricts painfully at the thought of her baby boy in the hands of that psychotic teenager.

Sensing her restlessness, Killian takes matters into his own hands.

“We know this is a shock, and we will explain everything once we get our boy back,” he begins. “Right now what you need to know is that we’re from the future.

“And yes crocodile, I know it’s not possible. But that’s in your time. Obviously there is a way since we’re here,” Killian explains when he sees Gold about to interrupt.

Everyone listens carefully, and Emma nods for Killian to continue.

“Our son, Liam was kidnapped by Pan. A few days after we made it back to Storybrooke after saving Henry, we discovered Pan had followed us back. He almost cast a curse where we would forget our memories and he would rule Storybrooke. Regina was going to stop it by sending everyone back to the Enchanted Forest except for Emma and Henry, who had to stay here in order for it to work.”

At this she sees her parents flick their eyes to Past Emma, and Regina places her hand on Henry’s shoulder, as if he’s going to be taken away from her.

“We were able to stop him before his curse could take effect and imprisoned him in Pandora’s box. In our time he’s found a way to get out, kidnapping Liam.” Killian’s voice cracks as he speaks. She places her hand over his heart to soothe him. They’re both about to lose their minds if they don’t get a move on.

“We need your help to get our son back because now there’s two Pan’s running around Storybrooke,” Killian finishes.

“Good job bringing another Pan over,” Regina glares at them.

“We didn’t bring him here,  _your majesty,”_  Killian replies in a clipped tone. “Pan kidnapped our son and opened the portal. This was part of his plan. He wants to change the past and cast his curse. Obviously when he had our son, we jumped in after them.”

“Why does he need to come back to cast the curse? Can’t he just do it in your time?” asks Henry.

“As we all know, to cast the dark curse you need the heart of the thing you love most. Since we stopped Pan’s curse after it was already enacted, he already used a heart. Felix’s. Which means in our time Felix is dead. And since he’s been stuck in Pandora’s box all these years, he hasn’t had a chance to make new friends,” Emma explains.

Any other explanations could wait, they were wasting time. Emma was never a patient person and with her son’s life on the line she’s not waiting any longer.  

“Enough talking. We need to find Liam. Now.”  

* * *

**_Past Emma POV_ **

Gold and Belle make their way to his shop to get squid ink that will help freeze Pan long enough for them to entrap him in Pandora’s Box once again. They need to check they have enough for both Pan’s. Gold, as much as anyone, wants his father gone and most definitely does not want to deal with two of them for long.

Regina’s gone off to prepare in case Pan manages to cast the curse quicker this time, following the instructions Future Emma and Hook gave her to stop it. Regina wondered whether Pan would do something different this time around, but they assured her he didn’t know how they stopped him.

Her parents left to fetch their swords and bow and arrows to help in the fight. As they were walking away she could see them talking in furtive whispers, no doubt Mary Margaret lamenting over the fact she doesn’t get back together with Neal, and David trying not to freak out that a pirate ends up marrying his daughter.

Future Emma and Killian are at the front of the group, leading them to the well where Pan cast the curse the first time. They’re holding hands as Henry walks next to Future Emma, talking a mile a minute.

She’d smile at her son’s enthusiasm if she wasn’t so caught up in her own thoughts.  

Neal left with his father and Belle, his shoulders hunched and a frown on his face. Honestly, she’s not surprised she doesn’t get back together with Neal. She can’t see herself trusting him that way again after what he did to her. As messed up as this situation is, it’s solved one problem for her - getting Neal off her back.

But it’s created a new one with Hook. She can feel his gaze on her, but since the arrival of their future selves she hasn’t been able to meet his eye. She’s sure she’d see the yearning look that’s been etched on his face since their first kiss in Neverland. _That was the best - and hottest - kiss she’d had in her life._  She shakes her head as if the act could rid her of such thoughts.

 But seriously, she and Hook? Married? And with a son? She has another son. With Captain Hook. _It’s not that hard to believe._  Stop it! Great, now she’s yelling at herself. This is what living in Storybrooke (and pushing away feelings for a certain pirate) does to a person.

Emma lifts her eyes from the pavement to look at her future self. She looks the same, yet different. Her smiles come more easily, less guarded.

Actually not guarded at all. She just seems open.

Happy.

Even with the worry etched on her face, she can see happiness underneath it. It’s all Emma’s wanted her whole life; to find happiness. And this Emma has it.

The answer to her unhappiness is on her left side, still trying to catch her eye. And she can literally see it right in front of her. It’s her future. With Hook.

But as much as she wants it, and as how obvious it is that it works, Emma still can’t take that last step. She’s still too afraid to open up her heart again.

* * *

**_Future Emma POV_ **

They finally make it to the well and Emma hurries her steps, clutching Killian’s hand tighter to lead him to the clearing. She can hear voices and she looks around anxiously for any sign of Liam.

She sees him curled up on a log on the forest floor, crying softly with fear in his blue eyes.

“Killian,” Emma says with a sob stuck in her throat.

“I know.” She sees his jaw clench in anger.

Storybrooke is relatively peaceful now, and they will get a random creature here or a magical mishap there. But since Zelena (who’s now on good terms with her sister), this is the biggest threat her baby boy has faced in his five short years. Her heart breaks seeing him like this, but she takes a deep breath to focus.

She turns on her “Savior Mode,” as Henry likes to call it. Okay, they can’t just barge in. They need a plan.

It’s time to face her past self directly. She hasn’t talked to her this whole time, knowing she needs time to process (and probably still hasn’t finished processing) everything, but she needs her help to get her son back.

She glances quickly and sees both Pan’s and Felix talking. She turns back to her past self.

“I’m going to need your magic to help me,” she says.

Past Emma looks at her with wide eyes. “I ca- can’t use magic,” she stutters. “Not well.”

“Well you’re going to have to tap into it,” she says a bit harshly.

She can see her past self’s eyes harden so she softens her voice. “Please, I can’t do this without your help. You just need to believe in yourself and in whom you’re protecting,” she looks at Past Emma imploringly. “I know you don’t know him, but that’s your son over there. And you just came back from Neverland, we both know how it feels to have our son taken by that psycho teenager. Think back to how you felt when he had Henry and use that to activate your magic.”

She sees Past Emma relax, sympathizing with her. She nods to herself and closes her eyes in concentration. She holds her hand up, but nothing happens. Taking a deep breath, she tries again. Past Killian comes up and whispers, “you can do this, Swan” and then a white light finally hovers in her palm.

Emma smiles to herself, knowing Killian’s encouragement is a big source of her strength, even back when she had her walls up. Her past self looks at the white light in her hand in awe.

“Good job, mom!” Henry tells her.

Past Emma gives him a warm smile. “Thanks, kid.”

Then Past Emma looks at her. “You’re a good teacher.”

“I have to be, I’m the one who teaches Liam how to control his magic.”

“He has magic?” Past Emma asks surprised.

Emma nods. “Being the son of the savior and the product of True Love will do that,” she says carefully.

Past Emma and Killian’s eyes widen and they gape at her, but she can deal with them later. When she sees her parents make their way toward them, she turns to her past self.

“Are you ready?”

Past Emma snaps out of her thoughts, giving her a firm nod.

_Let’s do this._


End file.
